Page:The Surakarta (1913).djvu/117

Rh the trunk of each figure was cast as part of the column, making an unbreakable, solid piece. The head and hands of each figure, however, moved; and, as Baraka explained, these were the levers which—pulled or pushed—turned one way or the other in a certain order—released a bolt within the column, so that the top plate lifted and the box opened.

Upon the four figures there were, therefore, eight hands and four heads; each head could be moved in four directions and also could be pressed in or pulled out slightly. There were, accordingly, twenty-four different operations possible with the head levers alone. Each hand was also capable of six similar different manipulations, or forty-eight for the hands—a total of seventy-two different manipulations. Of these, eighteen,